Reason to Blur
by burninganchors
Summary: Erzulie and Papa Ge get into an argument over why blurring "lines" preset by time and wisdom is dangerous. Then he offers a favor, and realizes that, for her, his dark nature every day is blurred, and...grey. Oneshot. Erzulie/Papa Ge


**Author's Note: I played Erzulie about three years ago in a production of Once on This Island. It has always been (out of the shows I've been in) my favorite, so I finally decided to write something pointless about it on a whim. Enjoy! Oh, and I don't own the play itself, or the book by Rosa Guy off which the play is based. I just like to play with the characters...**

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"How. Dare. You," the Goddess of Love whispered in rage, her slender fingertips pushing none too gently upon the chest of the opposing God.

Papa Ge's lips curled into a feral smile. "Have I done something to upset you?" he purred, smoothly trapping her wrists so she was now powerless against him. Flailing in vain, she glared up into his dark eyes, annoyed at being unable to punish him for what he had done.

_How DARE he..._

"Playing innocent doesn't work with me, Papa Ge," Erzulie snarled back at him, wrenching her hands away and taking a step back. "I was there. I saw what you did. You _killed _her. Ti Moune!" A dry sob clutched at her throat at the thought of his hopeless victim, and her eyes, normally so alight with love, were nearly black with hatred.

He was momentarily taken aback by her fury, but suavely responded. "We had a deal. I did nothing wrong, only collected what was mine. Besides, she was just another human."

"Just...just a..." she was speechless, and turned away, hurt. Erzulie's passion consisted of these people; without them, she was powerless. Just another vain, air-headed little goddess in the eyes of the Others, when in reality, she was so much more... Love had many powers and depths, many inward twists and curves that deceived the eyes of those who did not look close enough, and could do so much in the face of adversity. She did not 'play' with the natives - she gave them hope, and something to long for. Love was the deciding factor in everything. Always it was out of love that people governed - yet the Others didn't see that. _Especially _Papa Ge, with his fancies of death and destruction.

However, she too, was currently in the wrong. His forehead had creased in concern, and he had unknowingly taken a step towards her. Momentarily, the darkness of his eyes turned grey, murky with indecision. Coming to the realization of his behavior, he firmly reminded himself of his true demeanor, and took on a taunting tone. "Oh no, don't tell me you developed an _affection _for this girl, this human."

Erzulie gave a tiny, bitter laugh. "I _am _affection. It would be impossible for me not to," she replied coldly.

"But for Ti Moune, it was more, was it not?"

She did not deign to give him an answer, and he was forced to come to terms - momentarily - with his...lighter, side. Abandoning his callous tone, he sighed.

"Look, Erzulie," he began. "We are Gods for a reason. And Goddesses," he added grudgingly at her reproachful glare. "And we can't become too attached to the humans. There is a reason we are immortal and they are not. Just as there was a reason Ti Moune, a peasant girl, should not have mixed with the Grand Hommes, so beyond her ken. We are this way to protect us, to keep our identities. When the lines blur, we forget who we are, and that is when things get dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"You know, perilous, risky, unsafe - "

"No, no," she laughed. "I mean, dangerous as in, dangerous how?"

"Look at Ti Moune. She pledged her soul to a man who would never love her, and now she has had to pay the price."

"Sometimes I think we should be able to learn from our mistakes," she retorted, but it was more thoughtful than sharp. "Death should not be the only outcome."

"There are fates worse than death."

"You would know."

They shared a brief smile, then Papa Ge gave her a hard look, eyes boring into hers, until she was forced to look away.

"I will not spare her from death, Erzulie. It would only prolong the inevitable. But perhaps I can find another way to make everyone..."

"...happy?" she questioned, her pretty lips tilting upwards slightly in amusement.

"Yes," he answered quickly, a blush threatening on his cheeks at his unwillingness to even say the word. _Don't tell me you're going all "light-side," Pape Ge, _he chided himself. His color only deepened as she threw her pale arms around him, squeezing him tightly to her. He awkwardly stood for a moment before tentatively putting his arms around her. Locked in that embrace for a moment, he closed his eyes to hide the shades of grey their embrace inspired. _Get a grip! _She finally pulled away a step. Her eyes, now a subtle blue, gazed tenderly at him.

"Thank you, Papa Ge. Thank you."

He swallowed and nodded, but didn't break her gaze. She bit her lip, as if deciding upon something, and he watched the color of blood swell under her ivory teeth, unholy thoughts of his dark nature stirred by that simple action. Only when she kissed his cheek and quickly skipped out of the room was he shocked into a stupor in which he was neither of dark or light. Papa Ge and his evil, malignant self vanished, and so did the comforter of the previous moments, and he was almost...nothing. _Grey. _

It frightened him, how completely he could forget who he was...

Then he reminded himself of his earlier words, and slowly came out of shock.

_"When the lines blur, we forget who we are, and that is when things get dangerous."_

No; no... he was definitely dark. Black. She was light. Love, the purest form of light. Couldn't get lighter than that.

No.

Yet somehow, he had the sinking feeling that he might still do her the favor he had promised...

Because he was a God of Death, after all. Being dangerous was what he did...he could afford to take risks once in a while...

- even if it meant, maybe, possibly -

He stared after her retreating form, her supple curves, blonde hair floating behind her in luscious curls, and a dark smile, one utterly his own, brushed across his features.

- blurring the lines.


End file.
